The Last Gunfight: The Real Story Of The Shootout At The O.K. Corral--And How It Changed The American West (2011) - Plot & Excerpts
A pleasant surprise -- "The Last Gunfight" was a great book. I was raised on TV and movie westerns, and the legend of Wyatt Earp has been a pervasive theme across fictional portrayals of the old west in general. Author Jeff Guinn has done an excellent job of research into the man behind the myth. As you might expect, the truth of Wyatt Earp is much more nuanced than the portrayal you see in "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral."Useful piece of trivia: The actual gunfight was not so much a duel as an attempted arrest gone terribly wrong -- kind of a fiasco, really. Also, it didn't take place at the O.K. Corral. Guinn thinks that the "k-k" sound does a better job of simulating the sound of gunfire and sounds more romantic than "Gunfight in the Vacant Lot on Fremont Street."The events in Tombstone, Arizona, in 1881 naturally had a historical context, and Guinn helps the reader understand how the economic and political situation in southern Arizona created the context and the tensions resulting in the famous shootings. At the same time, the reader gets to understand how the situation was worsened by the involvement of quirky and irascible characters like Ike Clanton and Doc Holliday. And while there was much to admire in Wyatt, Virgil, and Morgan Earp as lawmen, I can't help but think that the situation might not have erupted so violently if there had been all around a little less drinking and all-night card-playing in Tombstone in the days leading up to the crucial confrontation.One little criticism I have is about the sub-title of "The Last Gunfight." I'm not sure that Guinn's book really demonstrates that the Tombstone shootout changed the American west. Certainly it colored popular viewpoints about the old west for decades after those events and even up to now. But it seems to me that the changes that were going on during that time were already underway, independent of any particular incident of gunplay.ARK -- 27 November 2014 As most people know from Hollywood, the infamous shootout took place in the span of a few breathless moments. This book is not just the immediate story of the shootout itself, but rather the entire scope of the story going all the way back to the founding of Tombstone, the formation of the cowtowns and cattle trails, the origins of the Cowboys in the wake of the Texas Rangers, and the bios of each of the personalities involved in this most classic of Old West soap operas. Back room deals, barroom boasts, double-crosses, trial testimonies, politics, logistical data on capabilities of firearms... it's all here and then some, presenting such an incredibly rich tale that you can walk way from this book feeling both entertained and educated. Guinn leaves no stone unturned, no eyewitness account unheard, and no theory unexamined. As a bonus, Stephen Hoye's narration has the same enthusiasm and cadence of the old Lone Ranger series without being overblown, which for an old radio fan like me only adds to grin level. I think the only way to improve on this one might be to give it an old-fashioned musical score.
What do You think about The Last Gunfight: The Real Story Of The Shootout At The O.K. Corral--And How It Changed The American West (2011)?
Very good, interesting, factual account of all the history and players.
—Tangala
3.4. Very we'll researched book on Tombstone.
—sean
